


I'm Here

by WordsFromAsh



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 09:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6900748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsFromAsh/pseuds/WordsFromAsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He could only hold her as she cried and remind her that he was still there. He was still alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Here

Chat Noir’s suit might have been durable during battle and protected him from many akuma attacks, but it was not made for the vice-like grip of Marinette. She tackled him flat on his back as soon as he tumbled down from her unlocked hatch and onto her bed. The force of her knocked all the air out of his lungs in a painful wheeze.

On another night, he might have joked about her being excited to see him. On another night, he’d have a cheesy pun prepared. On another night, he would have laughed at her antics. But it wasn’t another night. It was tonight. And tonight Marinette called him at 3am sobbing over a nightmare that obviously disturbed her.

Her face found the crook of his neck to hide in. Adrien thought he felt tears.

When she first called him, she couldn’t talk. The only thing that let him know that anyone was on the other end of the line was uneven breaths and shaky sobs that she tried and failed to control. His steadfast Lady, always so strong, sounded so _tiny_ through the phone.

She felt tiny now.

Her body trembled against his and her erratic breathing sent short bursts of warm air down his neck. Adrien shifted and wrapped his arms around her as best he could in the awkward position they laid in. “Shhh, everything’s fine, Princess.”

He felt her shake her head, her nose pressed against him as she did so. Snot. There was going to be snot on his suit. He rubbed her back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette stilled. Her fingers curled against his back and he felt her form fists like she was trying to find the strength to speak. It took several sniffles before she nodded so hesitantly that he almost didn’t feel her move at all. And then they continued to sit in silence, waiting for her to gather her strength again and to find her voice. Adrien would wait for her.

All three of them waited.

He hadn’t missed Tikki in his peripheral vision, a flash of red that perched behind Marinette. When he looked at her for any sort of help, all the kwami had to offer was large watery eyes and a sad shrug. Her antenna-like features drooped in front of her face, concerned for her chosen, but just as helpless as him.

Adrien’s eyes dropped back down to Marinette, still softly shushing her in hopes to calm her. Her breathing still shook, but it wasn’t as frantic. Her body didn’t quake as much in his embrace. “You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want,” he whispered. One of his hands left her back in order to brush through her hair, careful of the claws of his suit. His thumb got caught in a tangle that he gently unknotted. “Don’t feel like you have to. Just know that I’m here if you do. And I’ll still be here if you don’t.”

Her arms tightened around him and she nodded into his neck. He responded by pressing her closer to him and rested his cheek on top of her hair.

Marinette’s voice had cracked when she finally did speak on the phone. No, not cracked. Her voice had shattered like glass as she asked for him repeatedly. Asked if he was okay. If he was there. She had only just caught herself before she asked if he was alive, but he knew that’s what she meant to say. Knew it as soon as her breathing had hitched and he promised to be there immediately.

He stayed on the phone the entire way over just so she could hear his breathing and know he was alive during his short trip. He had made sure to forgo his catlike grace and landed on her roof with a thud loud enough for her to hear and know he was there.

She shifted slightly in his arms and pressed her face into the side of his neck, right where his pulse was. She sniffled.

“Shh, it’s okay.” Adrien squeezed her gently. “I’m here, Mari. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

He repeated it like the words were a pulse all on their own. He repeated them until her breathing synced with his. He repeated them even after she fell back to sleep in hopes that she’d hear them in her dreams and know she wasn’t alone. He was here and had no plans of leaving any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a vignette in a much longer one-shot, but then the tone and language diverged from that of the one-shot. I still really liked where this was going so here we are. Now to get back to the original story I was working on, but until then, I hope you all enjoyed this.


End file.
